Metacognition, Word Identification, and Reading Competence

Abstract

While much research is available in the literature regarding metacognitive abilities in reading, particularly reading comprehension, little has been done specifically at the word level. This paper reports on a study which examined the relationship among metacognitive abilities at the word level, word identification skills, and reading comprehension competence in a group of Year 5 students. Findings indicated that metacognitive abilities at the word level, including both phonemic awareness and metacognitive abilities in word identification, were directly related to reading comprehension performance, and indirectly through the mediating variable of word identification skills.